Discussion

Red Bank - Tonight

I did some work for a friend and don't like to charge for such things. In return, he insisted upon meeting for drinks then dinner early tonight. Red Bank is basically the halfway point so that is where we are going. Cost and cuisine are not issues. I am just hoping somebody can suggest a place (or even better a particular dish) to make my belly happy!(Nothing too dressy - It's Sunday!)

The thing of it is that the OP 's friend wanted to meet her for drinks then dinner The friend may feel a BYOB is not really meeting for drinks or they may not be wine drinkers. Hard to tell from the posting

MGZI don't know how old you are, but if you're on the "young-ish" side (whatever THAT means) You and your friend might enjoy the casual fun and food at Murphy's Grille.It's not anything like fine dining, but it's kick back casual and the menu is very 'user friendly' Everything from huge steaks to sandwiches, Here's their site:http://www.murphysgrill.com/

vtt7Mea culpa. Let me clarify... I said the "youngish" thing because, I wanted to make it clear that Murphy's is not by any stretch of the imagination, "sophisticated dining" and I don't want to get all sorts of posts asking me how could I possibly recc Murphy's for an evening of dinner and drinks. I always have fun when I go there and as you said, the place is casual and comfortable. A lot of the menu choices are fun. We always have a good time when we go there, especially off season before the hysteria of the summer crowds

HilljFunny... I was thinking the same thing. I don't know what happened. I used to eat there all the time I wonder: Did the type/quality of the restaurants change or did I just get to the point where I didn't want to deal with the sumer insanity and just stopped going there? I don't really know. The only place I still enjoy is Sogno's. RGR and bgut1, two Posters whose opinions I hold in high regard, find it not good. I've yet to have a less than excellent dining experience there,. Other than that, I'd be hard pressed to think of many other places I'd recc..

Tay, a number of friends have businesses in town and they say its a number of factors but my humble opinion tends to lean towards the adage about too many choices...not enough winners. If meters, crowds and rents don't kill ya...a winning menu and delicious execution might save ya.

HillJThat makes sense. It really was such a nice town (Except for the insanity of summer nights/weekends) It's just gotten too "trendy". That tends to not bode well for restaurant longevity.I think the impossibility of finding parking, having to deal with the sports car 'cruisers' slowing traffic to a standstill, and the hordes of non dining 18-23 yr olds flooding the streets, all create a negative financial impact on local restaurants.Unless they own the building, they probably cannot stay solvent very long. and don't have the time neeeded to build any sort of regular customer base. I do notice whenever I do go to Sogno's, by the time I leave, the place is packed, but the patrons are considerably older than those seen walking the neighborhood.I wonder where they come from?

I like the raw bar at 2 Senza. It's casual and elegant -- very nice place to hang out. They don't have a liquor license, but I believe they sell wine. I've only been once. Nice selection of oysters, very fresh. We had appetizers -- a salad and tuna tartare. Food was good and generous portions. The owner is a very charming woman. http://www.2senza.com/

You might consider dining at the bar at Nicholas. It's very close to Red Bank.

Since you say cost is not an issue, I agree with Val's suggestion that you dine in the bar room at Nicholas, just north of the bridge over the Navesink into Red Bank. In addition to very comfortable seating around the bar, there are a few tables. You don't need reservations, and you can dress very casually, i.e., jeans, etc. As for a particular dish, it's hard to choose just one because everything is superb. But if a gun were put to my head, I'd pick the squab.

My favorite place in Red Bank is Teak. I rarely, if ever, read any commentary on this gem. The food is always unique (Asian oriented) and ranges from good to excellent no threat to Nicholas but certainly noteworthy). Bar scene is classy and just trendy enough (20's and up, average age about 35-40)) not pretentious, just moderately upscale. Give it a try. If the chilean sea bass is on special, order it...you won't be disappointed.

Thanks, everyone. We went to Murphy and Dubin house before heading to dinner at Thyme Square. We wound up bringing the wives and everyone really enjoyed dinner! I think the asparagus with wild mushrooms and sunny side up egg was the best dish (of the many we tasted!)